When you think of Nevada, gold and silver comes to mind. In
gambling, in mining, and in being a beautiful state. I suppose some people
wouldn’t like the barren landscape, especially if you’re used to seeing grass
and trees and having humidity, but I find the starkness of the Nevada skyline
breathtaking.
So having a hiking trail by the name of Goldstrike popped up
on our radar, Mike and I were like “Heck, yeah!” (Although we used more
colorful metaphors).
Goldstrike Hot Springs Trail starts off easy. A nice path of
packed sand and gravel, through a winding
Once past that sight (knowing we’d have to walk past them
once more to reach our truck), we reached the part where the easy path turns
hard. A landslide of boulders (nicknamed
the Boulders of Death) blocks the path and must be traversed with care. It’s very easy to twist an ankle or even
break a leg. It’s here that you’ll find
the first rope to help you scale down this massive roadblock.
After that you’ll face the Wall of Doom, which has no rope
so brace yourself and expect a long jump to the bottom. About a quarter of the way in, we come across
a bookshelf of water and food (remember this reference). Now, anyone who knows me knows I have a
massive fear of heights. The paralyzing and debilitating kinds, so I knew I
would be pushing my fear boundary with this hike. The first major rope scale
came not too long after this, a drop of about six feet. Not bad, not great. But some nice person at
some point, put notches in the stone to help those of us slightly handicapped to
get down this obstacle.
Feeling proud of myself, I follow Mike to the hot springs,
and this beautiful natural springs coming from the ground and rests at a nice
hundred degree Fahrenheit. As we move further down the path, the hard trail
suddenly turns very difficult as we reach a plateau that overlooks a huge
stepping stone of boulders that go down, down, down to reach the lake at the
end of the trail. And this is where we run into a lot of people because these
next couple of ropes are hard to get up and down. Mike spent a good ten minutes just helping
other women and girls come up. It was at
this point I decided to call it quits because we were waiting for a good half
hour just to go down the fifth rope. We did manage it, but it was on a wet,
slippery boulder that gave no quarter.
Remember, on this hike, what goes down must come up.
So up we went, heading back to end the hike that has thus
far pushed me physically and mentally as I had to overcome several moments of
heart palpitating fear. Mike has always
been my rock (no pun intended!) and has helped me breathe through these moments
by letting me know he’s there if I need him.
Being afraid of heights can be embarrassing and exhausting. I’m lucky to
have such a wonderful partner in life.
On our way back to the parking lot, we pass by the bookcase
of water and realize that we’ve gone
Would I go back?...absolutely! This has become of my
favorite hikes. Unfortunately, the trail is only open through the winter months
so I probably won’t be back until fall. I may not have made that last rope but
it’ll give me something to strive for next time.
Thanks for visiting! Come back next Sunday for another adventure with us!
Mike & Beth
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